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The Amazon Alexa Prize Challenge Timeline

The Amazon Alexa Prize Challenge is well under way, and it is an exciting time for the students on the research teams. This post is meant to be an overview for the readers of the timeline of the competition.

Amazon received applications from universities in fifteen countries that wanted to be part of the Alexa Prize Challenge. “Each application was carefully reviewed by senior Amazon personnel against rigorous criteria including scientific contribution, technical merit, novelty, and ability to execute.”

February: Amazon announced the eight teams that they had chosen for the competition:

Alana Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland

Alquist Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic

EVE Brigham Young University, Provo, UT

Fantom KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

Gunrock UC Davis, Davis, CA

Iris Emory University, Atlanta, GA

SlugBot UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA

Tartan Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

May: It will be time for the teams to give customers a glimpse of their work as the first customer feedback period begins.

July-August: After analyzing customer feedback and other factors, the semifinals will come to a close. Some teams may be cut from the competition, while others will be able to continue onto the finals.

August-October: The teams will have a little bit more time to work on their bots before the final customer feedback period before the end of the competition.